Hearing for alleged campaign embezzler delayed until late January

12/6/11 5:22 PM EST

A preliminary hearing in federal court for Kinde Durkee, a Democratic campaign treasurer suspected of improperly diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, has been been postponed until Jan. 26.

Durkee had been scheduled to appear before a federal judge on Friday in Sacramento, but the Justice Department said it needed more time to review the case.

Durkee, a trusted figure who had access to hundreds of campaign bank accounts, was arrested in September and charged with improperly diverting more than $677,000 from the campaign fund of a Democratic state lawmaker.

Since that time, a number of other California Democrats have come forward to say their accounts are missing money as well. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said as much $4.5 million in her reelection fund was unaccounted for, and she lent her campaign $5 million from her own pocket to cover the potential losses.

"The parties stipulate that that the arrest in this case occurred at a time before the investigation was completed and that the case is complex given the number of clients of Ms. Durkee and the bank accounts involved," said a notice signed by both DOJ and Durkee's attorney. "The investigation has continued, and the government needs additional time to conclude its investigation, including reviewing, analyzing, and synthesizing materials that have recently been acquired and that it anticipates will be acquired in the relatively near future."